"Seawell in Drydock"

April ~ May 2005

The Seawell is in dry dock at Haugesund, Norway, for what can only be described as a major re-fit, and she will be there for approx five weeks. The first week a team of ten men worked around the clock, grit blasted her entire hull, and when I left her the other day, they had just given her hull the third coat of primer, first (red) second (greenish) third (silver-grey) and there will be a total of seven coats in all, that's counting the top coat, (red-ish). Her hull is in amazing condition for a 19-year-old ship, and she looks like a new build. The weather over there has been very good, not a cloud in the sky for the first ten days, which is just as well for this work. Her derrick is also getting all its welds tested (for re certification) scaffolding was erected for the job, at a staggering cost of £70.000!!!

Also, she has had a new generator fitted, and a hole was cut in her side for this. All her internal decks have been renewed, alley-ways, mess-rooms, t.v. rooms, and some of her 80+ cabins. Her DP system is being upgraded as well, and she will now be up there with the best of them. Both her “Big” cranes will have their rams overhauled, as well as other stuff like load cells, wires, hydraulic pumps e.g. (She has five cranes in all) and their computer system is also getting a face-lift. All in all, this is a huge investment, and will hopefully keep her working for a few more years. After dry dock, she is back in the British sector, but only for a three-week diving job for Shell, and after that we will go back to Norway until late November early December, doing well stimulation, which is what she was built for anyway. Cal-Dive International, of Huston Texas now owns the Seawell, but she is still British registered (Aberdeen)

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